


What's a Kiss Between Castmates?

by perigeecoffee



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Fluff, Kim Seungmin & Lee Felix are Best Friends, M/M, Shy Yang Jeongin | I.N
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:26:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23550766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perigeecoffee/pseuds/perigeecoffee
Summary: Theater AU. Jeongin tries out for a play and lands a lead part, which requires him to get close to his crush, Hyunjin."Seungmin looked amused at this. “Oh you’ll ‘run lines’ together Jeongin,” he giggled.Jeongin stared at him. “What do you mean?”Felix calmed his own giggling before replying, “We got the scripts this morning. You should check out Act 3 Scene 4.” "
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 23
Kudos: 169





	1. Spotlight

**Author's Note:**

> Is this fic entirely self-indulgent? Yes.

Jeongin watched as another person left the audition room. His friends Seungmin and Felix, avid members of their schools theater department, dragged him to the theater director’s room to audition for this semester's play. 

A lot of students came to audition, and during the wait Jeongin’s friends had left him as their audition slots came and went. As the number of people ahead of him dwindled, he slowly got more and more anxious. 

He was distracted from his own thoughts by the appearance of Hwang Hyunjin, who was just now leaving the audition room. Hyunjin was an upperclassman who was known for being really popular. Despite his popularity, he only really hung out with a few people, including some of Jeongin’s friends. Despite having mutual friends, Jeongin had never really talked with him before. Hyunjin had an ethereal air about him and Jeongin never knew what to say around him. 

Hyunjin recognized Jeongin and smiled, “You here to audition?” he asked as he made his way to where Jeongin was standing. 

“Yeah! Seungmin and Felix brought me here,” Jeongin replied, fidgeting a little with his hands.

“Oh cool. Did they leave you here alone?” Hyunjin questioned, looking around. 

“Yeah, both of their auditions were an hour ago, and mine isn’t for another 15 minutes.” 

Hyunjin gave him a soft look before adding, “Well I bet you’re gonna do a really good job at this audition. I have to go now, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing you next week when rehearsals start!” 

Jeongin smiled at him, “Thanks. I’ll see you then!” He hoped he wasn’t blushing too obviously. 

* * *

Felix and Seungmin were running with Jeongin down the hall towards the theater room. Today was the day that the cast list was being posted. Jeongin almost didn’t want to see the cast list, scared he did badly in the audition. As they waited for the list to be put up, he started fidgeting more and more, pacing in circles in front of where Felix and Seungmin were sitting on a bench. 

“Stop pacing, Jeongin. You’re a good actor and you’re definitely gonna get a part,” Seungmin reassured, as Jeongin fretted. 

“You can’t be sure of that! I bet I messed up in the audition. What if I mispronounced something? Maybe I didn’t project enough for some of those lines…. I definitely won’t get a good part. I’m gonna get a background role, and it's gonna be another year of playing minor roles and-”

“Jeongin! You did fine, stop panicking. Come sit here before I tie you to this bench.” 

Jeongin reluctantly sat next to the other two, trying to put a stop to his racing thoughts as they waited for the cast list to be posted. 

Soon, their wait was over. 

“C’mon, Jeongin! Let's go look!” Felix called, stumbling as he pulled Jeongin towards the cast list that the theater director had just pinned to bulletin board. All three took a moment to find their names on the cast list before turning to each other, eyes wide in shock. 

“Jeongin, oh my god!” Seungmin yelled. 

“You got one of the lead roles?” Felix said incredulously.

Jeongin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had been cast as one of the two main characters in the play. He turned to the other two, who were grinning wildly at him.

“Jeongin, look!” Seungmin said, pointing out something else on the board.

Jeongin obeyed, turning his head to see what Seungmin was pointing out. 

“Wait, what!” Jeongin squeaked, not believing his eyes. Right there on the board, the name of the person cast as the other lead role, was none other than Hwang Hyunjin. 

Felix grinned at him. “You’re gonna be acting opposite _The_ Hwang Hyunjin. You’re gonna have to figure out how to have a conversation with him without blushing and running away.” 

“It’ll be good! You two are so awkward around each other despite everyone else in our friend group being close. And you get some experience learning how to talk in front of him and getting over your old middle school crush on him,” Seungmin added, looking thoughtful. 

Jeongin gulped as he looked back at the cast list. This was going to be an interesting production. 

* * *

In the hallway between classes the next day, Hyunjin came up to Jeongin. 

“Hey, Jeongin!” Hyunjin called as he approached. 

Jeongin looked up in surprise “Hey, Hyunjin,” he said. “I saw you got the lead role, congrats!”  
Hyunjin glanced away for a second, looking shy, before replying, “I saw you got the other lead role, I should be the one congratulating you. Is this your first time playing a lead role?”

“Yeah,” Jeongin replied, “I’ve only played minor roles before this. Stuff like ‘Customer Number 1’ and ‘Citizen Number 3,’ so I’m really nervous about playing such a big role in this play.”

Hyunjin paused a moment before replying. “If you want, I can give you my number? We can meet up and practice running our lines together before rehearsals start. That way you can be better prepared and it might help you feel less nervous.” 

Jeongin blushed, stumbling over his words. “Yeah! That sounds great! Here, you can put your number in my phone.” He said as he handed Hyunjin his phone. 

Hyunjin typed for a minute before grinning and handing the phone back to Jeongin. “I’ll text you this afternoon so we can pick a good time to meet up!” 

“Ok, that works! I’ve gotta get to class now, but I’ll see you soon!” Jeongin replied before turning and hurrying to his next class, rushing to his desk just before the bell rang. 

He sighed as he sat down, knowing what was about to happen next. Felix was turned all the way around in his chair, raising his eyebrows as he exchanged looks with Seungmin. Jeongin got his stuff out of his backpack slowly, preparing himself for their interrogation. 

“So…” Felix began, wiggling his eyebrows at Jeongin. “What were you and Hyunjin talking about that was so important that you were almost late for class?” 

“He wanted to congratulate me on getting the part. We chatted for a bit and he got my phone number so we can get together sometime and practice running lines together.” Jeongin stated.

Seungmin looked amused at this. “Oh you’ll ‘run lines’ together Jeongin,” he giggled. 

Jeongin stared at him. “What do you mean?” 

Felix calmed his own giggling before replying, “We got the scripts this morning. You should check out Act 3 Scene 4.” 

“Okay, if you’re going to be cryptic about it I’ll just wait and see after school when I get my script,” Jeongin replied flatly, before turning back to the stuff on his desk and getting to work. 

* * *

After school, Jeongin checked his phone, and seeing a new message from an unknown number, he immediately opened it. He noticed that this message was in reply to the message Hyunjin sent himself from Jeongin’s phone earlier that afternoon

_**Unknown number:** Hey it’s Hyunjin! I was wondering if you wanted to meet up tomorrow to practice running lines? Let me know if that works. _

  
_**Me:** Yeah that sounds good! What time? _  


_**Hyunjin:** You can come over after school and stay for a few hours?_

_**Hyunjin:** Here’s my address _

  
_**Me:** Ok! I’ll see you then ^u^_  


Jeongin was glad Hyunjin couldn’t see him blush over text. He put down his phone and got the script for the play out of his bag. He had run down to the theater director’s room after his last class of the day and gotten it. He sat down and started leafing through it, skimming until he found what he was looking for. 

Act 3 Scene 4… His eyes scanned the page... Oh. _Oh._ Ok. So this was what Seungmin and Felix were talking about. There was a kissing scene. Between his and Hyunjin’s characters. 

He was going to have to kiss Hwang Hyunjin. On stage. 

_Oh no._


	2. Awkward Silence

Jeongin stared at his bedroom wall. How on earth was he supposed to kiss Hyunjin? 

He knew his friends had no idea how bad his current crush was. Seungmin had teased him for having a crush on Hyunjin back in middle school, but little did he know Jeongin never got over that crush. He always felt awkward around Hyunjin, like he was frozen to the spot and none of his words would come out right. 

Hyunjin was just so... intimidatingly pretty. Jeongin couldn’t even hold a conversation with him without turning into a blushing, stuttering mess. He needed advice. 

It was usually his last resort, but he had an idea. He opened up the groupchat.

##### Clown City (7 members): 

_**felix:** yeehaw my beets _

_**minho:** so help me god, i Will kick you from this chat_

_**jeongin:** everyone shut up i’m having a crisis_

____

_**seungmin:** looks like he read the script!!_

__

_**felix:** lmao what did you think?_

__

_**jeongin:** y’all…. how am i gonna kiss hyunjin? what am i supposed to do? _

__

_**changbin:** go talk to hyunjin. ask him for a ~demonstration~ _

__

_**jeongin:** no!!!_

_**jeongin:** i can’t do that, i can’t even talk to him without panicking!_

__

_**jisung:** just bat your eyelashes at him or something_

__

_**jisung:** use nonverbal forms of communication_

__

_**minho:** throw something at him_

__

_**chan:** no throwing things!!!!_

__

_**chan:** *pulls up a chair* _

__

_**chan:** jeongin have u talked to hyunjin about this at all? _

__

_**jeongin:** no i haven’t _

__

_**chan:** ok, well how about you do that first, it seems like the best place to start. _

__

_**jeongin:** ok i guess_

__

_**chan:** remember i’m always here for you if you need advice! _

__

_**jeongin:** okie dokie _

__

_**seungmin:** go get’em, tiger! _

__

_**jeongin:** shut up!!!_

__

Jeongin sighed as he put his phone down. Chan was (unfortunately) probably right. He would just have to talk to Hyunjin tomorrow when they met up to run lines. 

__

* * *

__

Jeongin approached Hyunjin’s house, hands shaking as he knocked on the door. Hyunjin opened it almost immediately, grinning when he saw Jeongin standing there. 

__

“Hey Jeongin!” Hyunjin said brightly, “are you ready to start running lines?" 

__

“Yeah!” Jeongin replied. He was definitely already blushing. 

__

Hyunjin led him up to his room. He flung open his bedroom door and flopped down onto the bed, before reaching into his bag and pulling out his script and a highlighter marker. He gestured for Jeongin to sit, and Jeonging obeyed, sitting down onto the bed next to him. 

__

“I haven’t really had a chance to look over it yet, but I figure we can just start from the beginning and read over our lines. Does that sound good?” Hyunjin asked. 

__

Jeongin froze at the realization that Hyunin didn’t know about the kiss. This was going to be interesting. “Yeah, that works!” he squeaked out, getting his own script from his bag, along with some highlighter markers of his own. 

__

The pair began to read though their parts, highlighting their cues as they went. Even though it felt stilted and awkward at first, as Jeongin read, he got more comfortable. Before long the two were quickly making headway in the script. When they reached the end of Act 1, Hyunjin paused. 

__

“Wow, I can’t believe we read through that much of the script in such a short time. Do you wanna stop for a second? I can make us both some tea?” Hyunjin offered. 

__

“Tea sounds great. And yeah! We’re making good progress!” Jeongin replied, eyes sparkling. 

__

Hyunjin got up and led Jeongin to his kitchen, getting a pair of mugs out of one of the cabinets before filling them with water, putting the tea packets in, and putting them in the microwave. As they waited for their tea, Hyunjin went to the pantry and grabbed some cookies, placing them on the kitchen table as both of the boys sat down in the kitchen chairs.  
Both of them sat and nibbled at the cookies until the microwave beeped, alerting them that their tea was ready. Jeongin watched as Hyunjin got up and went over to get the mugs out of the microwave. 

__

“Careful!” Hyunjin warned, as he set one of the mugs down in front of Jeongin, “It’s pretty hot.” 

__

Hyunjin sat down with his own mug of tea, placing it on the table in front of him. Jeongin studied the way Hyunjin’s hands curled around the mug. He copied him, and let the tea warm his fingers as he looked around the room. 

__

“You’re really good at acting, Jeongin. I can’t believe you’ve never had a lead role before,” Hyunjin said, breaking the silence. 

__

“Yeah, I’ve just always liked theater. I’ve read a lot of plays and even gone to see a few. What about you? You’re really good. Have you ever had a lead role before?” Jeongin replied. 

__

“Yeah, I had the lead role in some plays, but they were all years ago. I haven’t done any recently. I just decided to audition for this one because I missed acting.” Hyunjin said, thoughtfully. 

__

Jeongin sipped his tea and thought about how Hyunjin was entirely unaware of the kiss. He didn’t want to be the one to tell him. He figured he would let it be for now. He would wait for Hyunjin to find out and bring it up with him. 

__

Hyunjin and Jeongin soon settled into a conversation, both of them having fun sharing their interests with the other. It turned out they liked a lot of similar things! Apart from their love of theater, they both shared a love of music. 

__

Their conversation was eventually interrupted by Jeongin’s phone going off. It was a message from Felix reminding him that they had agreed to work together on a group project that evening. 

__

“Oh wow, time passed really quickly. I have to get home and work on a project with one of my friends” he said, getting up from his chair. 

__

“Ok!” Hyunjin replied, getting up from his chair as well. He quickly tidied up the table while Jeongin gathered his stuff from his room. Before Jeongin left, Hyunjin stopped him. 

__

“Hey Jeongin?” 

__

“Yeah?” 

__

“I’m really glad we got to hang out today.” 

__


	3. Lucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so hard to write. Feel free to leave feedback!

Jeongin flashed Felix a smile as he opened the door. He had run straight to Felix’s house to work on their group project after getting his text. Jeongin was grateful for the distraction from his current Hyunjin dilemma, and the two of them sat down together to get to work. However, his reprieve didn’t last for long. 

“So…..” Felix began, giving Jeongin a meaningful look. 

Jeongin sighed, knowing what was coming next. 

“How are things with Hyunjin?” Felix asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Jeongin. 

“They’re good. He told me he had fun practicing lines with me today!! But…” Jeongin trailed off.

“But what?” Felix turned to face him. 

“He doesn’t know about the kissing scene.” Jeongin mumbled. 

“You didn’t tell him?” Felix looked incredulous. 

“Of course not!” Jeongin replied, “There’s no way I can tell him!” 

Felix laughed. “Want me to tell him for you?” 

“Oh absolutely not. You are not allowed to tell him.” Jeongin frowned at Felix. 

Felix looked up from his phone, where he was already halfway through typing a text to Seungmin. He stared at Jeongin for a second before finishing the text to Seungmin. 

“You didn’t say I couldn’t tell Seungmin to tell him!” Felix looked gleeful. 

Jeongin covered his face with his hands. “I’m gonna die,” He said mournfully. 

“No. We’re helping you! I know you have a crush on Hyunjin. And I bet he likes you back!” 

Jeongin glared through his fingers at Felix. “Oh yeah cause you’ll _help_. Also there’s no way he likes me back...” 

Almost immediately afterwards, Jeongin’s phone went off. It was a text from Hyunjin. 

_**hyunjin:** hey jeongin!!_

  
_**jeongin:** hey! what’s up?_  


_**hyunjin:** i just read through the whole script lmao_

_**hyunjin:** can you believe we have a kissing scene?_

  
_**jeongin:** wow that’s crazy_

Felix leaned over and grabbed Jeongin’s phone, quickly typing on it while Jeongin tried to get it back.

_**jeongin:** so when should we practice ;)_  


“Felix! Gimme my phone back!” Jeongin tried in vain to grab his phone back.

“Okay, here you go! Go collect your man!” Felix said, handing Jeongin’s phone back to him. 

_**hyunjin:**........_

_**hyunjin:** i'm free tomorrow afternoon does that work for you_

Jeongin stared at his phone. Hyunjin actually wanted to… practice...the kissing scene? Did that mean Hyunjin wanted to kiss him? Felix would be so upset with him if he let this opportunity slip by.

  
_**jeongin:** yeah that works_  


_**hyunjin:** ok cool. see you then?_

Jeongin set his phone down and tried to process what had just happened. How was Hyunjin so casual about this? Did this mean that Hyunjin was super experienced? 

“Felix, what if he’s super experienced? What if I’m a terrible kisser?”

“Aww Jeongin you’re so cute. You’ll be fine, just don’t overthink it!” Felix said, laughing at him. “Besides, now you can get yourself a boyfriend!” He teased as he walked away. 

* * *

Jeongin was on edge for the rest of that day. He knew Felix told him not to overthink this, but he was running through all the possible scenarios in which this goes badly. What if Hyunjin didn’t like him and thought he was weird? What if Jeongin was a horrible kisser and Hyunjin laughed at him? What if Hyunjin was just pitying him this whole time and was planning on going to Jeongin’s friends and telling them?

Jeongin stressed about it all the way up until he went to Hyunjin’s house. Hyunjin answered the door, with a smile. Jeongin felt himself blush as he greeted him. He didn’t know what to say and hoped that he wouldn’t be super awkward.

“So,” Hyunjin started, “Would you like anything to drink before we practice?”

Jeongin wondered if maybe Hyunjin was as nervous as he was, and maybe was trying to stall a bit.

“Sure, I’d love some tea,” He answered, following Hyunjin into the kitchen and sitting down at the table as Hyunjin got started with the tea.

Jeongin watched Hyunjin make the tea, and fiddled with his hands a bit.

Hyunjin came to sit at the table with him, bringing the two mugs over, and they sat together sipping their tea for a minute, quietly.

“Is it just me or are you kinda nervous too?” Hyunjin asked Jeongin, smiling bashfully.

“Oh me too,” he exclaimed, relieved that he wasn’t the only one who felt nervous.

Hyunjin smiled at him, and suggested they start by running through an earlier scene to get started before they practiced the kiss.

They ran through a couple other scenes before they reached the kiss in the script. Jeongin glanced at Hyunjin nervously, who ran a hand through his hair looking equally unsure.

“I guess let’s just go for it,” Hyunjin said, looking at Jeongin who nodded before they started to lean in.

“Wait-” Jeongin said, and Hyunjin immediately stopped leaning back looking concerned “What is it?” He asked,

“It’s nothing, it's just that, um... I’ve never done this before” Jeongin admitted looking at the floor, feeling his face heat up even more.

“You’ve never kissed anyone before?” Hyunjin asked, a soft look on his face.

“I hope I’m not too bad, I don’t want your first kiss to be awful,” Hyunjin said looking worried that he would ruin Jeongin’s first kiss.

“Oh no! It’s okay, we can do it, I just don’t really know what to do exactly,” Jeongin replied hastily. He highly doubted that Hyunjin would be the one to mess it up. 

“We can give it a try, if you want?” Hyunjin asked, scooting closer and reaching out one hand to hold Jeongin’s shoulder. 

“Let’s do it,” Jeongin responded, taking a deep breath as he leaned in

“Close your eyes,” Hyunjin instructed him as he leaned in as well

Jeongin obeyed, closing his eyes as he continued to lean forward. 

He stopped when he felt his nose collide with Hyunjin’s. Hyunjin giggled softly before reaching out with the hand not on Jeongin’s shoulder and grabbing his chin, tilting his face gently before pressing their lips together. 

Jeongin froze. He was kissing Hyunjin. 

He reached out his hands, internally debating where to put them before settling on putting one on Hyunjins hip and one on the back of his head. They both settled into the kiss, Hyunjin moving his hand from Jeongin’s shoulder to his waist. 

They kissed until Jeongin felt breathless. 

Eventually, Hyunjin pulled away with a small smile. “How was that?” 

“It was really good,” Jeongin replied, not wanting to pull away. 

“I definitely think we should practice that part again tomorrow”

“Definitely.”


	4. Easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to write, but I hope you enjoy it!

As rehearsals drew near, Jeongin clung to every second he spent with Hyunjin. The two of them had fallen into a routine, hanging out after school almost every day. After Jeongin would leave his last class of the day, he would find Hyunjin waiting for him and the two would walk home together. 

Today they were walking together to Hyunjin’s house. They had made plans to work on more of their lines together, but that usually ended with them playing video games together or even just laying on the floor together talking for hours. Jeongin had gotten quite used to spending time with Hyunjin. 

He almost couldn’t believe that a few short weeks ago he wasn’t even able to talk to him without being a stuttering, blushing mess. His first impression of Hyunjin as cold and intimidating had been so wrong. Hyunjin was really affectionate and playful, helping Jeongin get more comfortable with his lines and giving him tips for managing stage fright. 

This changed once rehearsals for the show started. Hyunjin and Jeongin didn’t have as much time after school to spend together, however they still spent as much time as possible talking to each other over text. 

Jeongin reread the encouraging message Hyunjin had sent him before rehearsals started. He was still anxious about rehearsing in front of everyone else and Hyunjin made a point of reassuring him. 

Currently, most of the cast was taking a break. The director had started blocking the scenes, so most of them were free to rest while other cast members worked on their scenes. Since Jeongin wasn’t currently onstage, he watched as some other actors rehearsed their scenes onstage. He placed his script in his lap and sat quietly in the wings. He had spent so much time rehearsing with Hyunjin that he had all his lines memorized and no longer needed his script, however he still carried it around with him just in case. 

“You’re watching rather intently. Keeping tabs on your boyfriend?” Felix teased. 

Jeongin leaned back, looking at Felix before replying with a sigh, “I’ve already told you, he’s not my boyfriend.” He didn’t deny that he had been watching Hyunjin. 

Felix gave him a knowing smile. The director called for the actors onstage to stop and go to the next scene and Felix watched Jeongin’s face light up when Hyunjin immediately made a beeline towards them. 

“Hey Jeongin, hey Felix!” Hyunjin called, “How’s it going?”

“Pretty well, I’m supposed to be in this next scene so I’ve gotta run, but I hope you guys have fun!” Felix replied, grabbing his script and running onstage.  
Jeongin smiled at Felix as he left before turning to Hyunjin and replying. 

“It’s going well! I’m getting better at not being nervous on stage. Your advice has been helpful, well… most of it has been”

Hyunjin laughed. “Which part has been unhelpful?” He said while pouting at Jeongin. Jeongin was sure that Hyunjin had reached maximum cuteness, there was no way anyone else was as cute as this boy. 

“I’m 100% sure that the audience is not as scared of me as I am of it! That just makes no sense.” 

“Well maybe that bit only applies to removing an insect that you are scared of from your room.” Hyunjin replied, still laughing. “If it's any consolation, I know for a fact that the audience does not care as much about any mistakes you make. They haven’t sat through the show dozens of times in rehearsals, they won’t notice if you do something wrong as long as you appear confident.” 

Jeongin thought for a moment before nodding. “Thanks, Hyunjin.” He had no idea how Hyunjin managed to be so caring and patient all the time. He always took the extra time to reassure Jeongin and Jeongin was so thankful for that. He didn’t know how he would have survived this play without Hyunjin’s help. 

“Okay, it's time to rehearse Act 3 Scene 4! Get into your places, we’ll work on blocking the scene as we go.” The director called, interrupting them.

“Let's take it from the top, Hyunjin I want you to come from stage left and make your way to center stage. Jeongin, you should walk straight to center stage during your monologue before Hyunjin joins you.” 

Hyunjin smiled reassuringly at Jeongin as they both walked to opposite sides of the stage. 

Jeongin was kind of nervous, the knowledge that this would be the exact scene leading up to the kiss made his heart race. He knew it would be fine, Felix was over with the rest of their friends in the audience watching them and when he glanced over he saw they were giving him a thumbs-up

At the director’s cue, he began his monologue, making his way across the stage. Once Hyunjin joined him, he was genuinely having fun with his lines. The two held a dramatic conversation onstage until they reached the kiss. Hyunjin gave Jeongin a mischievous look before carefully placing his hand on Jeongin’s chin and kissing him. Jeongin relaxed into the kiss. Kissing Hyunjin was surprisingly easy at this point. His heart ached when he realized that once this play was over, he wouldn’t be able to kiss Hyunjin anymore.  
Jeongin was startled back into reality when the director clapped his hands. 

“Good job on that scene, you guys!” He said. “Let's keep moving right along. Places for Act 3 Scene 5, everyone!” 

Jeongin looked at Hyunjin and grinned, following him offstage to their friends in the audience. 

Jisung wolf whistled as they approached, Jeongin’s face turned red as he prepared for the inevitable teasing from his friends. 

Minho looked between Jeongin and Hyunjin, a catlike smile on his face. “So I see you two are having fun.” 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin replied. Was it Jeongin’s imagination or were Hyunjin’s cheeks tinted pink as well?

Yeah, Jeongin thought to himself. He was having fun.


	5. Pacemaker

It’s the day of the show, and reality has started to set in for Jeongin. Once this show is over, he won’t be able to spend as much time with Hyunjin. Not only that, but they won’t have any reason to kiss. Hyunjin isn’t his boyfriend, as much as he wishes he were, and he now has no real reason to hang out with Jeongin anymore. 

Jeongin shakes his head. That makes no sense, Hyunjin wouldn’t have hung out with him for all those afternoons just to ignore him after they’re no longer together in the play. Besides, Hyunjin isn’t like that at all, the older boy is honestly more clingy than Jeongin is. Still, the insecurity lingers. 

Jeongin went to check his phone. He scrolled through the various notifications he had, before noticing a text message from Chan. 

_**chan:** hey jeongin! how are you feeling about the show tomorrow? any last minute jitters?_  
_**chan:** wanna meet up at the cafe and talk? _

  
_**jeongin:** sure!!! i’ll be there in half an hour _  


_**chan:** great! _

* * *

Jeongin made his way to their usual table in the cafe. He noticed Chan was already there and grinned at him as he sat down. 

“I got the hot chocolate you like, and some pastries but those will be here in a minute,” Chan said, gesturing towards the mug on the table. 

Jeongin thanked him and sipped the hot chocolate. 

“So what’s up, Jeongin? Are you nervous about the performance? Or are you upset about something else? Don’t try and say you aren’t upset about anything, I can see it on your face.” 

Jeongin sighed, he knew Chan was way too perceptive.

“Yeah I’ve got a little bit of stage fright, but I’m honestly more excited than nervous for the show. I’m just… nervous about what will happen after the performance.” 

“What do you mean?” Chan asked, tilting his head in question.

“So you know how I’ve been hanging out with Hyunjin a lot to practice our lines? We’ve also been just hanging out together, and I’ve been having so much fun. Hyunjin is so fun to be around and I’m scared that after the play is over he won’t hang out with me as much anymore. Which I realize is irrational because it wouldn’t make sense, but I’m still nervous about it. I just like him so much...” 

“Wait, do you mean like him? Like.. in the boyfriend way?” Chan asked.

“Yes, the boyfriend way,” Jeongin replied, covering his face with his hands. 

A voice sounded from beside them, “A boyfriend? For little Jeongin?” 

“ Hi Minho,” Chan laughed, “I didn’t know you were working today.” 

Minho set a plate of pastries down onto the table before grabbing a chair from a nearby table and sitting down with them. 

“Yeah, I got called in, anyway, what’s this about Jeongin having a boyfriend?” Minho asked, grabbing a napkin and a pastry and handing it to Jeongin. 

“Hyunjin isn’t my boyfriend,” Jeongin mumbled through his hands before reaching to accept the pastry. 

“But you want him to be?” Minho smiled.

“Yeah…” Jeongin admitted. 

“Well from what I’ve heard, you’re not going to have a problem…” 

“What do you mean?” Jeongin asked, quickly turning to look at Minho. 

“Hyunjin obviously likes you just as much as you like him! He’s spent just as much time with you as you have with him and he’s not tired of you. In fact, he’s arguably more clingy with you than he is with the rest of us.” 

Chan looked thoughtful. “Yeah that makes sense. You’re both probably having the same insecurities right now.” 

“Really? You think Hyunjin likes me too?” Jeongin looked shocked. 

“Yeah, obviously. Don’t worry, it’ll work out. Try not to worry too much, ok?” Minho replied.

“Ok, I’ll try.”

* * *

Jeongin made his way through the rest of the day and suddenly, it was show time. 

The air buzzed with excitement. Everyone was rushing around getting ready, making last minute makeup and costuming alterations and final checks of technology and props. Jeongin found himself standing against a wall behind stage, letting the chaos mill around him as he took it all in. He started running through all his cues in his head, making sure he wouldn’t miss any onstage. He noticed Hyunjin in the wings, and decided to go over to talk to him. 

“Hey Hyunjin are you ready for the show? You’re gonna do great” Jeongin tried to encourage him. 

Hyunjin looked like he had been startled out of his own thoughts. “Yeah, I’m ready. And thanks, I know you’ll do great as well.” 

“Are you nervous about the show?” Jeongin asked.

“Not really…” Hyunjin trailed off. 

The stage managers called for them to get into their places. 

“Well, it’s all gonna work out. And after tonight, no more long theater rehearsals and stage fright!” Jeongin said brightly. He had to look towards the positives and not get caught up in the negatives. He gave Hyunjin a quick smile. 

Hyunjin smiled back but it didn’t reach his eyes.

* * *

Onstage, Jeongin was a different person. He let the adrenaline of the performance melt away any remaining stage fright. He loved performing; the thrill of it, seeing all the pieces come together, being part of a team, telling a story and moving the audience. As he walked towards center stage, he looked to the side as Hyunjin walked towards him. Hyunjin looked ethereal on stage, the stage makeup sharpening his features and making his eyes more intense. He looked towards Jeongin as their characters walked towards each other. Jeongin almost couldn’t believe this was real life. 

Hyunjin was just as gentle as he was the first time they kissed, carefully placing his hand on Jeongin’s chin. Hyunjin gave Jeongin a quick smile. Just like they’d practiced, he leaned in. 

Despite Hyunjin’s earlier gentle touch, the kiss was desperate and intense. Jeongin tried to memorize how it felt, just in case it was the last time they kissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you like it so far? I hope you're ready for the last chapter!


	6. Paradise

When Felix and Seungmin had first convinced Jeongin to audition, they emphasized one major aspect of the performances in order to tempt Jeongin; the Waffle House cast afterparty. 

As the cast filed into the booths, Jeongin let himself be pulled into a booth next to Changbin and across from Jisung and Hyunjin. He was still buzzing on the adrenaline from the performance, the four of them chatting animatedly as they placed their orders for various breakfast foods. 

Jeongin zoned out, letting the conversation continue without him as he stared off into space, lost in thought. He wondered how he was supposed to act around Hyunjin, if he was going to be able to maintain the facade of platonic friendship or if he would end up ruining everything if he told Hyunjin how he really felt.

He pushed his now-soggy strawberry waffles around on his plate. Jisung and Changbin were discussing the hardships of working sound and backstage crew for the show, complaining loudly about almost everything imaginable. Jeongin watched as Hyunjin laughed along, but noticed that the laugh didn’t really reach Hyunjin’s eyes. 

Jisung and Changbin grabbed their glasses and toasted to the fact that there would be no more theater until the next year. At that, Jeongin looked up, shocked. The only activity he shares with Hyunjin will be gone until the next school year? He met Hyunjin’s eyes and saw how upset he looked. Before Jeongin got the chance to ask him if anything was wrong, Hyunjin abruptly got up from the table and rushed towards the bathroom. 

Jeongin looked after him, frozen in his chair. Should he go after Hyunjin? Did Hyunjin want to be alone? 

“Go after him, Jeongin!” Jisung urged. “No he doesn’t want to be alone!” 

Apparently Jeongin had said that out loud. Excusing himself from their booth, he quickly got up and followed Hyunjin.

* * *

He found Hyunjin leaning against the wall beside the sinks. Jeongin carefully closed the door behind himself, not wanting to break the relative silence of the room. 

“Hyunjin?” He asked softly, making his way towards the older boy. “What’s wrong?” 

Hyunjin leaned his head back against the wall, sniffing slightly before replying. “It’s really nothing, I’m just being stupid.” 

“It’s not nothing if you’re this upset about it! You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

“Yeah I know. Promise you won’t laugh at me?” Hyunjin asked.

“Of course I won’t laugh.” Jeongin promised. Hyunjin took a deep breath before replying.

“I’m just upset that you and I won't be able to spend as much time together now that the play is done.” Hyunjin said, avoiding Jeongin’s gaze. 

Jeongin was surprised that Hyunjin was also upset about not spending time together. He knew it probably wasn't in the same way that he felt, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He and Hyunjin could be the bestest of platonic friends as long as it meant that Jeongin got to spend time with him. 

“Hyunjin that’s not stupid at all. We can definitely still hang out together! We’re friends, aren’t we?” Jeongin replied. 

“Yeah, and that’s the problem…” Hyunjin mumbled. 

“What? What do you mean?” Jeongin asked, shocked. 

“Jeongin I don’t want to be your friend. I want to keep kissing your cute face. I want to keep spending time with you. I want to keep making lame jokes just so I can hear your laugh. I want you to come get dinner with me and tell me all about your day and I want to learn exactly what your usual coffee order is and I don’t want to only be your friend and only see you in theater when we do a play, I want you.” Hyunjin paused for breath and seemed to realize the implications of all of what he’d just said. 

Jeongin felt like his brain was malfunctioning. Hyunjin wanted… him? Jeongin had no idea how to respond, had no idea how to convey all the emotions he was feeling. 

Hyunjin looked like he was going to start panicking at Jeongin’s lack of response, so Jeongin did the only thing he could think of. He walked up to Hyunjin and, just like they’d practiced, held Hyunjin’s chin in his hand and connected their lips. 

Where the last kiss had felt like a goodbye, this one felt like coming home. He tried to convey just how much he wanted Hyunjin, tried to tell Hyunjin through the kiss that everything was gonna be okay. 

When they broke apart, Jeongin looked into Hyunjins misty eyes and smiled at him. 

“Does that mean you want to be my boyfriend?” Hyunjin asked as Jeongin tangled his hands in Hyunjin’s hair. 

“Yeah, I would love to be your boyfriend,” Jeongin replied. 

He started to giggle and Hyunjin soon joined in.  
“You know, I was actually worried that once the play was over you wouldn’t want to spend time with me anymore,” Jeongin admitted, laughing. 

“Seriously? We’re both oblivious” Hyunjin replied. 

“But we aren’t oblivious anymore,” Jeongin said, running his fingers through Hyunjin’s hair before kissing him again. 

<3

When the two returned to the booth a few minutes later, hand in hand, nobody said anything, except for Jisung who shouted “Yes!” before turning around in his booth to loudly announce that Kim Seungmin owed him twenty dollars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there we go! my first chaptered fic is completed! please feel free to leave feedback or let me know if u liked it!!! thank u all so much for reading!!!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so please give feedback! You can also find me on Twitter (@inniekitty) or Tumblr (@perigeecoffee).


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